Well, I'm still weighing my options here. The more I inspect the gouge in the cylinder wall, the less I think it needs to be resleeved. It's really not as deep as I originally thought. It's smooth with no raised and sharp edges. no chunks broken off. No cracks. Perfectly vertical from the BDC to TDC of the ring travel. As a result, my thoughts on how to proceed are changing. I'm still waiting to get the block in to the machine shop for a wash and measure to help determine my final course of action, but I am leaning toward two new options.
I have been asking around and researching .044 on this block. It seems to be a fine option, as long as I jet up. I'm currently running the stock orifice plugs for a 115hp; #34's in the throats, #27's in the top of the bowl, #58.5C's in the side of the bowl. If I bump up to the stock 140hp jets (#36, #25, #67C), would that be enough [or too much]?
I am also thinking that I may just deal with the gouge. There are no raised or sharp edges. I'm thinking a good hone will knock at least half of the gouge out, providing the results of the bore measurements are within spec. My question here is that I don't know the implication of leaving a small vertical gouge in the cylinder. In a 4-stroke, I would imagine it would burn some oil, have a touch lower compression, and possibly some blow-by. What are the implications in a 2-stroke, though?
As for the pistons, both the rebuild shop and my local marine shop recommended the WiseCo's. I haven't seen or heard any other good recommendations, so it will be WiseCo's for me unless I find otherwise in the next couple of weeks.